Petside Items: Oprah and Obesity

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| Print | By | March 26, 2008 5:00 AM

Millions of Oprah fans join her in mourning today with the news that her dog, Sophie, passed away. Oprah had recently published an insightful article in her magazine on the topic of losing a pet...and so did we...

Condolences to Oprah, who suffered the loss of a golden retriever just last year.

Since I'm visiting ye olde country at the moment, I am getting a renewed perspective of the origins of cliches and language -- especially English -- as we know it.

How many times have we abused the cliche 'you look like your dog just died,' and how many times, as pet owners, have we known the reality of how that cliche came about.

Seeing a pet through illness, and learning to live again after the death of a pet is far more complex than many can comprehend.

This week on petside we are featuring an article about households that choose pets over kids, but there are also families that choose to have both. An interesting report comes to us from Israel today, stating that studies on kids with pets and on kids without them show a marked difference in health. So although your vet bills may be consistent, owning a pet may actually lower your trips to the pediatrician...

I was touched today by the local story of an overweight cat.

Obesity is life-threatening for humans and for pets alike. I got a rude awakening when our vet recently told me that Maxi, my Sheltie, had put on a few extra pounds and that we should cut back on portions.

I learned how to check through his double-layered coat -- nature's own idea of a beach cover-up -- and check for his rib cage. The formula is pretty simple, if I can feel the ribs, he's on the right track. If the ribs feel fleshy and plump, it's time to break out the Doggy SLIMFAST...hmmm, the similarities between human and pet life never end do they????

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